


you're my fortress, shield, savior, armor

by colorsofmyseason



Series: a thousand senses [11]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, FC Bayern München, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:15:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29238951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorsofmyseason/pseuds/colorsofmyseason
Summary: Niklas defends on and off the pitch, and Alex enjoys it.
Relationships: Alexander Nübel/Niklas Süle
Series: a thousand senses [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718806
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	you're my fortress, shield, savior, armor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Spacebirdy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacebirdy/gifts).



> So I'm back...and not dead, apparently ^^
> 
> This is my first time trying my hands on a Nule fic, written for lovely [Myri](https://cinnamonstroll.tumblr.com/) from Tumblr (who has also introduced me to this couple, thanks bb XD) and I really enjoy writing it! Hope you guys are going to enjoy reading it as well!
> 
> Set within my supernatural AU, as usual.

The first time Alexander Nubel met Niklas Sule, he was terrified. 

The defender was only one year older and two centimeters taller than him, yet every time Alex stood before him, the goalkeeper always felt two feet tall, and he himself didn’t understand why. Probably it’s the way Niklas played, tackling his opponents and guarding his area like his life depended on it. Probably because he just exuded such an aura that caused people to be scared of him. Or probably there’s another reason altogether, Alex didn’t know.

There’s the thing with the powers too. Being a magic practitioner, Alex had a mild ability to recognize supers, though he couldn’t always see what certain people were able to do, and he knew Niklas wasn’t normal from the go. And that fact only worried him even more. Such a huge, scary person like Niklas couldn’t possibly possess anything but the strongest, most destructive power there was. And Alex, though had yet to be included in the senior national team, had heard the stories about Lukas Podolski’s infamous disintegration ability and the incidents related to it. And if someone like Podolski was capable of reducing the whole Koln academy and training ground to dust, the goalie didn’t want to imagine what Niklas might be able to do.

_It’s okay,_ Alex tried reassuring himself. _You won’t be meeting him that often except in games, and that’s only twice a season at least. And he’s not allowed to use his power on such occasions. You don’t have to think much about it._

Except then Bayern came knocking, and Alex couldn’t resist their offer. So, less than six months later, his bags were packed and he waved a tearful goodbye to Gelsenkirchen.

To his relief, his new teammates in Munich were pretty nice. Well, at least no one tried to bully him. Or prank him (he knew he still needed to be wary about that one, considering Thomas Muller was still very much present in the squad). Manu was as warm and brotherly as he could expect, and after some initial hesitation, even agreed to teach Alex some magic (which was one of his main reasons for agreeing to the transfer, by the way).

And then there’s Niklas.

Considering his first impression of the defender, Alex had been wary to meet him as teammates finally. He’d been expecting Niklas to be polite but cold to him, probably doing nothing more than sparing him a few small talks or maybe even threatening him to behave and so forth. But as it turned out, his prediction couldn’t be further from the truth.

The first day he stepped into Sabener Strasse, all shy and awkward for being in a new place in an entirely new city, Niklas was the first one to spot him and greet him brightly before introducing himself. Before he could proceed what’s going on, the older man had taken Alex’s hand and pulled the goalie alongside him to the dressing room. And after all the introductions and greetings had taken place, Niklas had pulled Alex beside him, asking where the younger stayed for now and even giving his number, stating that Alex could always text him whenever he needed it.

At first, Alex assumed that the tall defender was just being kind, after all he’s a new player and needed some time to settle down and so forth. But the constant help didn’t stop there. Niklas tossed a water bottle at Alex after they finished training. Niklas lent Alex his sweater when the goalie forgot his one time. Niklas offered to drive Alex back and forth to training upon knowing that Alex’s new apartment wasn't too far from his own.

Alex didn’t know what to make out of it, but after his initial surprise had passed, he had to admit he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it. While he certainly wasn’t the type to take advantage of someone's kindness, he still enjoyed it nevertheless, especially as those little things provided him with a chance to get closer to Niklas and know the older better.

There’s one thing that Alex was still curious about though, and it’s Niklas’ power.

The supers in Bayern didn’t particularly bother hiding their nature whenever there were no cameras lurking around their training ground, so naturally a few small incidents tended to happen here and there. Serge once accidentally set fire on a set of training kits. Alphonso and Kingsley were responsible for destroying the pitch after a particularly heated race (and Alex wondered who thought that a race between a speedster and a cheetah shifter would be a good idea). Even Jerome, undoubtedly one of the most senior players in the squad with loads of experience regarding supernatural stuffs, once somehow got stuck in his wolf form and they had to wait until Manu and David returned from international break to revert him back into human.

Not Niklas, though. Niklas never experienced such accidents, not that he ever did anything from the first place. Even when the others were fooling around with their powers, Niklas would only stand close to them and watch, laughing at them but never actively participating in it. Whenever an accident happened, the tall defender would be there to mediate the situation or help with all he could, but nothing above the capacity of a normal human was ever shown.

Alex supposed he could always inquire about Niklas’ superpower to someone else, and he had no doubt the older players at Bayern knew and would tell him about it if he asked. But for some reasons, he didn’t want to hear it from anyone else. He wanted to figure out Niklas’ special ability himself, he wanted to witness it with his own eyes. Besides, he supposed there were valid reasons why Niklas wouldn’t use his power, he needed a specific condition to initiate it for example, or simply because he didn’t want to waste it.

So the goalie just took a deep breath, and decided to wait.

-

Until _it_ occured.

Alex didn’t know what _it_ was, and he suspected Manu might’ve known more than he let on, but he supposed he could always interrogate the older goalie some other time. Or try learning mind-binding spells behind Manu’s back. Though Alex also knew that Manu would never let anyone into his mind, but well.

Anyway, it happened like this. They were training at Sabener as usual, the goalies slightly separated from the outfield players as Toni worked with them throughout a series of goalkeeping drills, the next moment, meteors were raining heavily upon them.

Alex heard screams all over the place and he tried to remember any spells to stop the meteor shower, but couldn’t find one in time. He expected to be hit and break into a thousand pieces, but instead, he felt something grabbed onto him, then a metallic shroud wrapped around him and he rolled on the ground, shaken but apparently uninjured.

It took him a few seconds to gather himself and look around. There were certain signs of destruction here and there, and most of his teammates and trainers were on the ground, but apparently the situation wasn’t as bad as he’d predicted. Then he saw Manu, both arms raised to the sky as he sustained a gigantic, transparent, dome-shaped barrier which encompassed the whole training ground, protecting everything and everyone under it.

Alex heaved a deep breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He could never thank God enough that Bayern had Manu, and he knew everyone around him felt the same way. Not only was the older goalie one of the most powerful wizards in Germany, his almost inhuman reflex was also commendable. Considering how he himself had frozen earlier, Alex was sure he would never be able to figure out the right spell and cast it in less than a second, especially when faced with such danger.

Then he looked at himself and almost got a heart attack.

He was wearing armor. Yes, a real suit of armor, like the ones pictured in history books. He didn’t know how it got there, but it sure had protected him from being smashed to death by the meteor shower, even if Manu hadn’t manifested the barrier earlier. And as he felt the cold metal on his skin, he could sense that it’s supernaturally conjured, but he didn’t know who did so.

A small groan snapped him out of his reverie, and Alex turned around. To his surprise, someone else was lying face-down by his side, wearing the exact same suit of armor. The goalie quickly knelt beside that guy and turned his body around, intending to thank him for saving his life, only to be left gaping at what he saw.

Niklas. Niklas was lying there, encased in that armor, face pale and eyes screwed shut. He didn’t seem to be injured, but he’s not moving either, and that scared Alex. He had no doubt that Niklas was the one who had donned the armor on him, and he had no idea how it would impact the defender. Being a slightly late bloomer, Alex hadn’t had much experience with supernatural stuff, but he knew some powers had their price to pay for every usage. And what if Niklas’ own health was it??

“Niklas,” Alex whispered, as if Niklas would break into pieces if he spoke too loudly. “Niklas. Niki. Please wake up. Please.”

To Alex’s relief, Niklas seemed to hear him, for his eyelids started fluttering open, and relief washed over the goalie as he found himself staring at that pair of light brown orbs that he had come to know (and secretly adore), as wide and anxious as they might be at that time. “Alex…”

“Niki,” Alex repeated, still in a whisper. He himself didn’t know why he did so, for the situation around them didn’t really call for it, and people were yelling and talking loudly all over, but he just felt like he needed to do it. “Are you alright?”

A weak chuckle escaped the defender’s throat. “Isn’t it me who’s supposed to ask you that?”

“I’m okay,” Alex said, and he meant it. Grabbing Niklas’ hands, he helped the defender to get to his feet and watched as the armor dissolved away before his eyes. “So, this is your special ability? Armor manifestation??”

The defender nodded, a little bashfully. “It is,” he confirmed. “I know you’ve been curious about it.”

“You know??” Alex asked, shocked. “Why didn’t you just tell me then?”

“I don’t want to sound boasting,” Niklas admitted, and only now did Alex realize that a faint pink color had made its way to the older’s cheeks. Not that Alex minded of course, since it made him look cuter somehow. “Also, my power’s not the most...extravagant there is, I suppose.”

“I don’t care. If Manu didn’t manage to put up his barrier in time, I probably would’ve been hit by those meteors, but you’d saved my life. I’m more worried about you anyway. Back then you just lied there on the ground, unmoving. I thought something bad has happened to you. I...I was terrified!”

“I’m alright, don’t worry,” Niklas assured him, and Alex somehow found himself believing the older man’s words. “It’s just the adrenaline after I rushed here to get you, I guess.”

It took another few seconds for Alex to digest Niklas’ words. “You...you rushed here?? Only to get me…?”

The defender looked away and gave another small nod of confirmation.

Alex’s breath hitched in his throat as those words kept replaying again and again in his mind. Only now did he realize that Niklas was with the other outfield players when the meteor shower occurred. He would’ve needed to run like a wind to reach Alex and wrap his armor around the goalie. Why did Niklas decide to do that instead of protecting the ones who were closest to him, and risking his own life in the process?

“Why?” Alex managed to croak out, voice even lower than a whisper now. “Why did you do that? I mean...why me…?”

“...Because I don’t want you to get hurt…?”

“...More than the others?”

The intensifying blush on Niklas’ face was all the answer he needed.

Alex couldn’t speak. A hundred words were swirling around his mind, yet he couldn’t get any of them out. But he knew he had to do something, _anything_ , so he pulled Niklas closer and pressed his lips onto the defender’s.

It barely counted as a proper kiss, nothing more than a quick peck on the lips. But he felt warmth spreading all over him the moment their lips met, blood rushing to his face, his heart thumping faster than necessary, and he’s pretty sure Niklas kissed him back, even if it’s only for a second.

They couldn’t spend much more time together afterwards, for a medic had rushed to them and insisted that they got checked for injuries. As he and Niklas were dragged away separately, Alex knew there were still a lot of things they needed to talk about, that it’s too early to tell whether this would grow into something more meaningful in the end. But for some reason, he didn’t think it’s too far-fetched to hope.

**Author's Note:**

> A little information about some Bayern players I mentioned here and their powers:
> 
>   * Alexander Nubel: wizard. He's a slightly late bloomer since he manifested his powers later than usual. His magic's actually very powerful, but still raw. He's Manu's apprentice in magic.
>   * Manuel Neuer and David Alaba: also wizards. Manu is Bayern's main team wizard, David usually assists him in working the magic on the pitch whenever they play a game.
>   * Niklas Sule: armor manifestation. He can generate impenetrable metal armor over his body, and he can conjure the same armor upon everyone he touches as well.
>   * Jerome Boateng: werewolf.
>   * Serge Gnabry: fire elemental.
>   * Alphonso Davies: super speed. He basically can run in incredible speed and jump considerable distances as well.
>   * Kingsley Coman: cheetah shifter. Even when he's in his human form, he still possesses higher speed than normal humans.
> 

> 
> Hope you guys like it, kudos, comments, and constructive criticisms are appreciated!
> 
> -
> 
> Check my [tumblr](https://colorsofmyseason.tumblr.com/tagged/fanfiction) for more fic dumps/entries about my supernatural AU!


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